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Talks
on Zimbabwe crisis should revisit objectives of the liberation struggle
Zimbabwe
Liberators Platform (ZLP)
June 13, 2003
The Zanu PF
government’s violent reaction to last week’s mass action organised
by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has left unwarranted
political scars on the nation:
- Many innocent
civilians became victims of arbitrary beatings perpetrated by
the military and the police, who are supposed to defend and protect
the same people.
- Police have
mounted permanent roadblocks in major cities in apparent anticipation
of another mass action. This is curtailing the people’s freedom
of movement while inconveniencing them.
- MDC leaders
and their supporters were arrested and detained. Some were later
released without charge while others face treason charges.
- In the meantime,
all aspects of Zimbabwe’s crisis (political, economic, social
and humanitarian) remain unresolved. The people desperately need
immediate answers to pressing problems affecting them.
Not one aspect
of the crisis should take priority over others. There should not
be undue emphasis on resolving the political crisis at the expense
of the others. In the circumstances the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform
(ZLP), a non-governmental organisation formed by genuine war veterans,
would like to reiterate that MDC and Zanu PF cannot and should not
be left to resolve the whole crisis on their own. The issues at
stake go beyond party politics.
While ZLP accepts
that dialogue is necessary and indeed inevitable, it recognises
and stresses the critical need to involve civil society in the talks
in order to broaden the process.
ZLP also believes
that the all-stakeholders’ dialogue should take place in the context
of and around those values and aspirations that led to the prosecution
of the liberation struggle. Any efforts towards a resolution of
the whole crisis should focus on the realisation of the following
values and principles that embodied the national liberation struggle:
- Observance
of the fundamental freedoms of expression, association, assembly
and movement.
- Respect for
the sanctity of human life and basic human rights.
- Unfettered
participation in the country’s political processes by all.
- Public involvement
in shaping the country’s destiny.
- Socio-economic
empowerment of the masses to uplift them from pre-independence
poverty and deprivation.
- Equal access
to the country’s resources and equal opportunities for all.
- Restoration
of African traditional values adulterated by years of cultural
onslaught under colonialism.
- Equality
before the law for all and respect for the rule of law.
- Respect for
human dignity that was confined to the white settler minority
during the colonial era.
- Elimination
of repressive legislation reminiscent of the colonial era.
The refocus
on the original agenda of the liberation struggle has been necessitated
by the current situation characterised by:
- Unremitting
impoverishment of the masses for the past 23 years resulting unfortunately
in most adults yearning for the pre-independence era.
- Trampling
under foot of the ideals of freedom, democracy and respect for
human dignity that drove many youths into the ranks of the liberation
movement.
- Perfection
of the repressive state machinery to become the envy of the former
Rhodesian and apartheid regimes.
- Unbridled
corruption and plunder of national resources for the benefit of
a few.
- Paying lip-service
to the socio-economic empowerment of the majority through empty
populist rhetoric and policies.
- Resorting
to anti-imperialist demagoguery to prop up fledging political
fortunes.
- Reinforcement
of pre-independence cultural bias that denigrates African values.
- The disregard
of historical monuments of the First Chimurenga such as the "hangman’s
tree" where heroes were murdered, the Jameson House where
they were "mock-tried" and their burial site in Dzivarasekwa
that has been desecrated through the construction of military
barracks.
- Posturing
on developing countries' solidarity devoid of progressive content
or meaning within Zimbabwe itself.
- The use of
cloak of sovereignty as a shield against criticism on human rights
abuses of the country’s citizenry.
- While land
redistribution is essential, there has been no evidence of decongestion
in rural areas or alleviation of poverty following the implementation
of the chaotic fast-track resettlement programme. Instead, hundreds
of thousands of farm workers are homeless while land has been
allocated on a patronage basis to Zanu PF officials.
The Zanu PF
leadership and government should be reminded that criticism and
self-criticism built and strengthened the liberation movement and
propelled it to victory. The same principle can be applied to this
sick but promising nation.
The ZLP believes
that genuine war veterans, as the legitimate custodians and defenders
of Zimbabwe’s liberation legacy for which so many sacrificed their
lives, should work tirelessly with other civil society members and
all political parties in the country to rebuild the nation and promote
peace.
Visit the ZLP
fact sheet
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